Gun felon to get more time in jail for gun plea

John Nickerson

Updated 8:39 pm, Friday, May 30, 2014

A convicted drug felon on parole when he allegedly held his ex-girlfriend and their three kids at gunpoint in their Stamford home in early February pleaded guilty Friday in Bridgeport federal court to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Gerald Coley also admitted to violating the terms and conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction, according to a press release from Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Stamford police were called to Coley's ex-girlfriend's home on the West Side on Feb. 3 after a relative of the woman reported to police that the ex-girlfriend and her three children -- also fathered by Coley -- were being held by Coley at gunpoint.

The woman told police she had been trying to get Coley moved out over the month because he was abusive, violent and "capable of anything."

The woman said she spent Sunday with a boyfriend and returned to her Carolina Road home in the morning.

Coley, who was released from prison in September after serving 11 years in federal prison following a drug investigation, was at home waiting for her return. He suggested they take their daughters to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast.

Coley's ex-wife said that during the drive, Coley said he would be having sex with her and pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, a police report said.

After they came home, she told one of her daughters to call her boyfriend and tell him that Coley had a gun. She then had sex with Coley because she was afraid for her safety and felt compelled because he had a gun.

Hostage negotiators were able to get Coley to come out of the house unarmed at 2:30 that afternoon.

He told officers that he had hidden a gun behind a radiator in the living room and a search of that location revealed a loaded Glock .40 caliber handgun.

Coley's criminal history includes six felony convictions, including a 2002 federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, for which he was sentenced to 151 months in prison and three years supervised release. Coley was released from federal prison in September 2012 and began serving his supervised release.

Coley is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven on Aug. 20, at which time he faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm, and up to two years of imprisonment for violating his supervised release.